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Market Trends, WeWork, Cryptocurrencies, Passive Saturation

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Note that it was written on 14th November, before the Chancellor's autumn statement. Last week was a remarkable one for my stock market portfolio. Share prices were up on almost all my holdings. This was no doubt sparked by good news; inflation seems to be under control in the USA with CPI falling to 7.7% and the war in Ukraine is looking up as Russia ...

Pension Fund Hedging and the Bond Market

The Bank of England had to step into purchase gilts yesterday (28th September) after the bond market looked like collapsing totally. Some £65 billion was spent to do it. This has created panic and uncertainty in the financial community and even affected equity markets. I will give my comments on these events although I certainly do not claim to have any knowledge of pension scheme management and bond markets. So please correct me if I get it wrong. Defined benefit pension schemes buy ...

Interest Rate Sanity and Chancellor’s Announcements

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. The Bank of England’s announcement of an increase in base rate to 2.25% was just one step in a return to sanity. With inflation nearing 10% why would any idiot lend money at 5% or less as many mortgage providers have been doing. In reality the last few years have seen lower interest rates than have been available for the last 5,000 years. This has been ...

Mini Budget – Good but misses a chance

This article represents the views of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. The Chancellor has taken steps  to drive forward the Government’s desire to simplify the personal tax system for individuals. This has included the removal of a new tax charge (the Health and Social Care Levy), the removal of an income tax bracket (the additional 45% tax rate) and the reversal of the 1.25% increase to dividend tax rates from April 2023. However, in his Statement on Thursday the Chancellor ...

Property Trusts and Supermarket Income REIT Results

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Commercial property investment trusts should be a good defence in a market downturn – at least that is what the investment pundits have been saying. As the market heads south I have been selling overvalued tech stocks and retail stocks vulnerable to a recession and reduced consumer spending. Property trusts should be less volatile as although the property market has been changing in some regards, ...